Robert Cumber

The home retailer, which has five stores in Sheffield, two each in Barnsley and Rotherham, and one in Doncaster, announced it has entered redundancy consultation with nearly 4,000 staff.

It said that following a review of its operating functions, changes were required to 'ensure it is best placed to continue to thrive within an ever-changing retail landscape'.

Wilko said it is consulting with 3,900 of its store supervisory team about a new management structure, alongside trade union the GMB. It added that 1,000 new senior supervisor roles will be created as part of the shake-up, along with a 'significant amount' of customer service positions.

The news comes after the company posted an 80 per cent drop in pre-tax profits, to £5.1 million, in the year to January 28, and weeks after it complained about a rise in costs due to the falling value of the pound since the Brexit vote.